The daily ritual began with Curry at Punjab Kabab House which was decidedly – Mainstream – and served no better than competent Curry. I had hoped for so much more.
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Before returning to Adante Hotel to meet up with Dr. Stan, I noted some more Curry Houses for a future visit. Hector the relentless. I also passed Bartlett Hall, in daylight. The chances were we would have a Bier there later tonight. I also needed more cash and so went in search of a friendly cash machine.
Hector’s chosen bus to the Golden Gate Bridge took us through Presidio. The bridge became closer and closer, then further away. We baled at Fisherman’s Wharf and caught another bus to the Vista Point.
Presidio was nothing like I had imagined, the mental image of a military installation had been planted by movies. Would the Starfleet Academy be built here in the twenty third century? Instead, a leafy residential suburb is what we passed through, twice.
We jockeyed for position at the viewpoint then walked down to sea-level. Lots of photos, quite a sight.
Walking across towards Sausalito was dismissed, too far, but more importantly, too high. Instead we headed down through Crissy Field, a former airfield but now home to Fort Point Beer Company.
Where Google Maps let us down with the bus, it did guide us to the correct industrial unit. There was no sign of life. Going round the back it became apparent there was no taproom. A brewery worker gave us the bad news – the taproom – is in downtown San Francisco. A sample or two might have invigorated us.
The long walk through Crissy Field continued, a bus stop was located. Marg phoned just as we reached the bus terminus. Our bus would be a free service to very close to where we wished to go. This was the PresidiGo DOWNTOWN Shuttle via Fisherman’s Wharf to Crissy Field.
The streets leading to the Fort Point Ferry Building on Embarcadero, Jackson Square / Financial District had modern office buildings. One skyscraper had a lattice which I took to provide flexibility for earthquakes.
The taproom for Fort Point is a kiosk with outside seating.
Mosaic Park 4.7%
Pale Ale 19 IBU Cool, light and refreshing. Due to being nasally bunged, I could sense the Mosaic hops rather than taste them. This was a good starting point, a session Bier.
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Animal 7.4%
Tropical IPA 54 IBU Gold, with a haze, the body was there, dry tasting, full on hops – Vic’s Secret, Simcoe, Citrus. This is exactly what was being looked for.
Being late afternoon, it was decided we had done enough wandering. The quality of the Bier was such we felt like getting our feet under the table. The Mosaic Park was a decent starter, once we got into the Animal, there was no going back. So much for having two and moving on. We stayed put, so much for four breweries per day. The staff engaged us, they could tell we were serious about our Bier and were enjoying the fayre.When I went up to fetch my second round, it was on the house. So it does happen.
Every so often, music wafted, solo sax. Was this being played in an adjacent unit? On hearing Birdland (Weather Report) Hector went off to investigate. Having explored the ferry terminal I was back out on Embarcadero, here was the source.
Between pieces we chatted, Wayne Shorter, Jan Garbarek, even Pastorius mentioned, this was a surprising addition to the pleasure of the afternoon.
The clock shows we left at 20.08, shortly before sunset. It was dark when we reached the far side of Chinatown. Brandy Ho’s – Hunan Food on Columbus Ave came highly recommended. We were not disappointed, the food was magnificent.
Thereafter it was back to Bartlett Hall which we had visited on the first two nights.
After more Goofy Boots, it was time to try Dark Bullit Porter. At a modest 9.5% this was definitely a goodnight Bier. An – Imperial Coffee Porter – this had chocolate and vanilla, yoffay!
We had come to the USA to chase the hops, however, Oregon is where we expect to find the best Bier, and Portland, Oregon, is where we are headed tomorrow.
The venues visited:
Brandy Ho’s – Hunan Food – 217 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133, United States